How to Breed Dubia Roaches
Blaptica dubia is a species of roach that is raised as a feeder for other animals such as lizards, scorpions and tarantulas. While many people object to cockroaches on principle, Dubia roaches offer advantages over raising crickets. Unlike crickets, they do not chirp, jump or have a strong smell. They are also hardier and easier to breed. If you provide the correct conditions, they will breed. Blaptica dubia is a live-bearing species. The female makes an egg case, then draws it back into her body. The young emerge several weeks later.
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Instructions
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Select a container to keep them in. Choose a smooth sided container such as an aquarium or plastic bin. Dubia roaches cannot climb smooth surfaces or fly, so the container does not even need a lid.
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Cut egg crate to fit your container. Egg crate is the cardboard container used to ship eggs in bulk. You can buy egg crate online, or you can obtain it for free from restaurants that use a lot of eggs. You can also save the crates you buy your eggs in.
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Stack the egg crate on edge so that the pieces nest loosely. The waste will fall into the bottom of the container, making it easier to clean. Clean the bin by lifting the egg crate and sweeping underneath.
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Feed the roaches quality dry cat food, baby food grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and fish flakes or pellets. Your pets will be eating what the roaches eat, so make sure they get a high quality diet.
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Mist the container with a hand sprayer to keep the humidity around 60%. If your roaches are dying while molting, the humidity is too low.
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Tips & Warnings
You can tell the adult males from the females by their wings. Males have full wings, females only have wing buds. Feed out the males first.
Bare bottom is the best in the bin. Substrate only makes the bin harder to keep clean.
The roaches will get most of their water from fruits and vegetables, but you can also use water bites made from polymer gel for extra water.
Do not use a water bowl, as the baby roaches may drown.
Keep the container around 90 degrees. Lower temperatures will slow breeding, and if the temperature falls below 68 degrees, the roaches will stop breeding altogether.
References
- Photo Credit Huge Cockroach image by fotodewan from Fotolia.com
